#installed a dictator as our president

[wilwheaton]

Donald Trump threatens the entire existence of the American republic. He is able to do this because the Supreme Court he created is assisting him in doing so. It is a corrupt Court – on which more later. It overturned a central right for half of our population. It routinely mixes and matches rationales, jurisprudences, logics to arrive at the end point of transforming America into their extremist vision. We’ve heard that yesterday’s decision was a terrible decision, an extremist decision, that it changes the American experiment fundamentally. No disagreement with any of those points. Most importantly, in my mind, it’s a fake decision. Yes, it will now be controlling within the federal courts. But it doesn’t change the constitution any more than a foreign army occupying New England would make Massachusetts no longer part of the United States. That may seem like a jarring analogy. But it’s the only kind that allows us to properly view and react to this Supreme Court.

The rationale for the decision yesterday has literally no basis whatsoever in the US constitution.

Josh Marshall is correct, but I don’t think it matters. This corrupt, activist, fascist SCOTUS does not care. The majority has decided that the Constitution, 250 years of precedent, popular opinion, and the foundational ideas that have made America what it is since 1787 are what they say they are.

I live in a country of three hundred and forty million people.

In this country, six unelected christian nationalists, five of whom were placed on the court by presidents who lost the popular vote, who are opposed by SEVENTY PERCENT of the population, are making up laws out of whole cloth because their power is unchecked. A country that allows this to impose their regressive authoritarianism on that entire population is not a free country. It is not a Democracy.

America has not been attacked like this since 9/11. Six unelected people forcing their christian nationalist agenda on a population of three hundred and forty million is not a Democracy. It is tyranny.

Everyone is missing the central message of yesterday’s ruling: SCOTUS is going to install Trump as dictator for life, by any means necessary. Somehow, after he loses the popular vote again, and after he’s even lost the Electoral College again, these six Fascists will invent a reason to overturn the will of the electorate, again. Every single one of their rulings this term have been part of their coup. Now, just line them all up and connect the dots.

We are four months away from the likely end of what passes for freedom in America, and once it’s gone, it’s not coming back in my lifetime.

[qqueenofhades]

what's been particularly vile to me is this group of white online leftists who insist that anyone who cares about more than this one issue for the election is a bad person, like, as if us black and brown people are making up reasons to be afraid and not.....believing the gop when they say they are coming for us. believing trump who has said previously that he does not bluff, that he will do the things he's said he will do (i hate what social media has gone to the word gaslighting but it feels like gaslighting. we lived through four years of trump. we saw the damage. stop treating us like we're being dramatic). it must be great to not have to worry about that i guess? "life won't change under trump" is such a telling admission because maybe theirs won't but mine will. and so many others' will.

and it is often again these (white) online leftists that love to call anyone who disagrees with them a white liberal (derogatory) because they know it would be racist (bad) to be this shitty and condescending to poc but they don't want to actually listen to anything black and brown voters are saying. it's easier to just call us white liberals and throw our opinions out, to ignore the work of black people for decades to gain the right to vote, to disregard the weight of telling them to not do that. it's genuinely appalling. they care so much about racism until it's time to engage with poc who have different opinions than their online echo chambers, then we're just stupid liberals with terrible opinions like..... wanting to live. not wanting four more years of trump. so sorry for that.

sorry for this vent in your inbox, i'm just so fucking tired of white people trying to rewrite history as if trump wasn't that bad. he was for my family and countless others and i am terrified for what's to come if he wins.

The thing about (the often-white) Online Leftists is that they have become just as much as a radicalized death cult as the diehard Trumpists. If you don't want to die for The Revolution and/or sacrifice your life, friends, family, the rest of the country, etc., then you're Insufficiently Pure and must be Purged. (Which I think is just complete BS, as none of them could actually handle sacrificing anything, but it's increasingly the only kind of performative rhetoric that is acceptable in leftist-identified discourse spaces.) This is functionally identical to "if you aren't willing to lay down your life for our Lord and Savior Donald Trump and the Great White Christian Nationalist Dictatorship, you're a liberal cuck," but with the names and justification changed. It doesn't change the underlying radicalization, nihilism, and insanity of the premise.

Another thing the Trumpists and the Online Leftists have in common is that they are busily rewriting just how bad Trump was in order to serve their Ideology. Ever since January 6, 2021, the Republicans have thrown everything they have at revising and whitewashing any suggestion that it was an "insurrection," and the Online Leftists have done the same, in an attempt to "prove" their insane point that Trump "would be better" than Biden. This is embodied in the recent ultimate-brainworm-nonsense maximalist-online take that "Biden has to lose so the rest of the world will see that the US rejects genocide!!!" That's right, the message that the rest of the world would take from Biden losing to Trump is that the US rejects genocide. Never mind if Trump literally wants to commit all the genocide possible and to install himself as a fascist theocratic dictator. In the deeply twisted minds of the Online Leftists, this is the only possible interpretation of Biden's loss, so they'll push for it as hard as they can! The Trumpists and the Online Leftists, at this point, are working pretty much in concert to damage Biden for similar insane reasons and get Trump elected. Etc etc., one Nazi and ten people at the same table is eleven Nazis.

Like. Sure. Four years ago, when Trump was president and people were dying by the thousands because he didn't want to wear a mask because it smeared his bronzer, just to name literally one of the terrible things he did every single day (and not even mentioning how much worse a second term would be) we were absolutely better off. Super-duper great. (Sarcasm.) Either that or "there is suffering and evil in the world and the only solution is to drastically increase the suffering and evil for everyone and to destroy what progress we have managed to make because It Does Not Fix Everything Now" is an absolute moral imperative, and either way, yeah. I'm calling bullshit.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Gave a 10/10 to a BL... me!

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I love this show. I adore Tew's the simple backstory. No frills. No fuss. He got dragged in the way many do and he can kill so they kept him. They aren’t trying to make it needlessly complicated (which is rare for Thailand). That said, the pacing is way tf off, the emotional arc is rushed and then sappy out of absolutely nowhere. Before you ask, the kiss is not at issue, we halfway through they should be kissing, but the romantic life changes - too soon. But I don’t care. Finally, they left us this ep reminded of 2 v important things,

this pair kisses beautifully

in BL all mafia be gay

Fun fun!

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - It's official, I love this. It’s a classic caregiver/bodyguard trope where one of them is opening the other one up to the world, but sweetly. I’m enjoying the softness of JimmySea's take and I hope GMM TV takes its cues from the success of My School President and doesn’t push this particular show into rough or edgy territory. Stay on target GMMTV. Don't mess with my bias again!

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 3 of 10 - Finally, our adorable side couple has emerged! This show remains engaging without losing pace (despite the main couple being slow burn), which is all I want from a Thai pulp, and more I could ask for currently from a sports BL. 

(Note: when I dictate the computer always puts "Thai pope" instead of Thai pulp - this is hilarious to me.)

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 14 - I guess they didn’t strip the omegaverse out of this. Unfortunately, I’m not an omegaverse fan, so I find its presence extremely off putting. (But it’s kind of amazing that somebody finally put one on our screen.) Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of alpha posturing and hyper masculinity, because that’s what this kind of worldbuilding is an excuse for (lazy writing and lazier characterization). This means I don’t like Babe AT ALL except that he’s smell orientated and a bit verse. Way is lovely tho, because Nut is a great soft screen presence amongst the testosterone haze. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 2 of 8 - I’m not gonna lie (when have I ever bothered to lie to you all?) I’m struggling with this show. The sound effects are getting worse. That is not allowed. Still I found this installment slightly more bearable than the last last, probably because there was more of the cast in play and less of Jade being too cringe to live. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - AKA temporal paradox of pain.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 13 of 24 - Ooo it’s a bit of a teacher/student (coach/player) thing. Linguistic negotiation and kinkification of phi. Also actually kinky. But not consensually. Gonna get dark. Bummer. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 1 of 14(!) eps - Whines. Must I? Gaga doesn’t have a skip ahead button. Sad sack main characters really do not work for me. But this was better than I expected. I wasn’t expecting much. 

Look: This is helmed by Cheewin (shudder) with screenplay by Den (Only Friends - shudder the second) under Copy A Bangkok (they deserve not my shuddders). It's gonna be a shizz show people. It's Thai dark War of Y style - my least favorites. Apparently, there is meant to be a "plot" but when has Cheewin ever bothered with plot?

On a completely different note does the blond look like that Korean actor/idol from At a Distance Spring is Green & Wanna One to anyone else? Or is it just me? (Park Ji Hoon)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - I like it a lot. Dongwook is so obtuse and socially awkward and reserved and needy and Dohyun is so gay over and simultaneously wildly confused by this behavior. Fantastic. A bit stiff, even for Korea, btu I'm okay with it since everything else I'm watching right now is decidedly NOT stiff.

I finished it!

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo - Japan BL movie 1.5 hr

Best friends life together during university - cheerful sunshine loves to cook, grumpy tsundere loves to eat. Aki is a bit manic pixie dream boy for me (not my favorite archetype) but they’re cute and it’s one of those Japanese slice of life pieces like Our Dining Table that isn’t really a romance in fact it’s barely a drama. This isn’t friends to lovers because they’re basically already in a relationship (which everyone around them knows) they just aren’t fucking. I did spend a lot of time worrying that they weren’t eating any green things whatsoever. In the end this isn’t my thing when there’s no kissing at all, and this was a bit too dull even for JBL. Sorry Japan, one cannot trade on cute and cheese alone. I know, you want to. But that's not a BL or a personality. 6/10 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan, maybe coming to Netflix) 8 eps - This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS. IT'S SO GOOD.

10/10

Let me be perfectly clear: I have watched 646 BLs and only handed out nine 10/10s.

I talk more about why this one made the cut, here.

It's Airing But...

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off on this one and if told it's good I'll binge later.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

Next Week Looks Like This

STARTING

11/20 Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - trailer here, stars Ohm (of OhmFluke) opposite Guide (bestie from IFYLITA). This looks like an actually gay version of Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). I'm intrigued, it looks HELLA pretty.

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Weds ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). When you want your old love again, but fate sends you a reaper instead. All he can do for you is kill people. I'll likely give this a pass and wait to binge if safe.

11/24 VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Screenplay by Lin Pei Yu (WBL) about a chef who courts a shy writer with spicy beef noodles.

11/25 The Sign (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk, but with a suspense and adult characters. Special investigators who loved each other in previous lives reunite in new bodies. Stars Billy Patchanon (BillySeng) & Babe Tanatat (new). Includes other SCOY favorites as a special investigation team. I may give this a try (depending on distribution) because I'm into the non-horror bits.

11/26 The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - trailer here. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes.

11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

Still Coming November BL

11/30 For Him (Thurs ????) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer, I suspect iQIYI will scoop this one up. From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in! Maybe I'll do a trash watch?

Nov 2023 line up with screen caps here. Not kept updated.

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To be fair this was last week but I did get the screen shot until now. (You are Mine)

I Cannot Reach You serving all Japan's favorite tropes plus some very un-Japan decent kisses.

(Last week)

[eugenedebs1920]

The next generations will determine our future-Millennials, GenZ! This is our country & our future. Don’t let Trump install 2 more extreme right wing SCOTUS MAGA justices who will dictate our lives for the next 30 years. Get out & Vote! Vote for decency! Vote for a Woman’s right to bodily autonomy! Vote for #change! Vote for good. I’m the very beginning of millennial, tail end of GenX, my first election was 2000 (we all, or should, know how that went) I often think about GenZ in particular. You guys barely got #Obama, all you’ve known is Trump. Let me tell you. This isn’t normal. This isn’t how it’s always been. This hostility and division, this anger and talk of retribution. This is some mutation of the Republican Party, emboldened by Trump to spread racism and hate, enabled by spineless Republican politicians who care more about power than they do their constituents or the values and institutions that define America. We can stop this though. This is the last gasp of a dying movement. A movement of discrimination. A movement of cruelty. A movement of fear and violence. This is their last grasp on to what they perceive to be their superiority over others. Let’s snub it out. Because we are the most diverse, most inclusive, most compassionate, kind generations to date. Let’s show them that. Let’s show them that love conquers hate, that kindness is stronger than cruelty, that peace will overcome violence. This November, or earlier (I’ve almost always did mail in or early voting) Vote blue down ballot and ,vote Kamala Harris to be the next President, of a nation full of potential, the United States of America ☮️💟🇺🇸

[mariacallous]

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s looming return to office is causing sleepless nights in Europe. Diplomats expect Trump 2.0 will cause more headaches because the world is less stable today than it was in 2017.

Chief among their fears is the growing partnership between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. “Trump is getting one global theater. And everything our adversaries are doing right now seems connected,” a Western security official said, on the condition of anonymity.

It’s unclear if Trump—not shy about his domestic agenda coming first—understands exactly what the prospect of an alliance between four nuclear powers whose leaders hate the United States means.

“These are four countries who are already working together against American interests,” said Brett Bruen, former White House global engagement director. “North Korea is helping Russia invade Ukraine. Iran’s proxies are attacking ships in the Red Sea. China is buying Iranian oil. It all fits and could get worse if Trump becomes more isolationist.”

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s decision to aid Russia by sending troops to Ukraine is the most surprising and ostentatious example of how the axis of autocracies might continue to grow.

The benefits to the Kremlin are obvious: Russia has suffered heavy losses since the start of the war, and North Korea is willing to help plug that gap by sending its own men to near-certain death.

What’s in it for Pyongyang is less clear. “There is significant risk of North Korean soldiers defecting as soon as they arrive in Ukraine—something the South Koreans are preparing for,” said John Everard, the former U.K. ambassador to North Korea. “Defections from his elite special forces would embarrass Kim. It would also be a major embarrassment if his troops turn out to be useless. It could damage his reputation as a man to be truly feared.”

However, Everard also said that Kim needs a backup plan. “North Korea has been almost solely reliant on China for a long time, and China has been signaling its displeasure at Kim’s new relationship with Russia,” Everard said. “Meanwhile, we don’t know what Kim is getting in return for sending troops to Russia. Perhaps he wants help developing new nuclear weapons and missile technology, or perhaps he has been forced to agree to send troops because, now that his stockpiles are exhausted, he can no longer meet Russian demands for munitions.”

NATO officials fear a global escalation of the European conflict. If North Korea continues to support Russia, does South Korea support Ukraine by sending missiles? Might Ukraine strike North Korean targets? And if it did, would North Korea demand China makes good on treaty commitments to protect North Korea? While alliance sources say that is “close to China’s worst nightmare,” it’s being seriously considered.

Anything that eases Russia’s burden in Ukraine gives Russian President Vladimir Putin room for his long-term objective: weakening the West and expanding Russian influence. Europe will continue as his primary target.

“The Kremlin and its proxies have attempted to influence multiple elections in Europe with the specific aim of installing pro-Russian politicians or governments across the continent,” said Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House.

Whether it’s claims that the United States sees Europe as a colony via NATO or that Ukrainian neo-Nazis are offering human sacrifices to pagan gods, there are thousands of examples of Kremlin proxies seeking to coerce Europeans into hating Putin’s enemies. This type of activity often peaks during elections and has helped Kremlin stooges, such as Irakli Kobakhidze in Georgia, win elections or grow in strength across Europe.

Obviously, anti-West and anti-NATO sentiment is a danger in Europe itself, but it also has consequences for Americans. “The United States benefits when Europe’s economy thrives. It benefits from a strong Europe standing up for U.S. interests further afield, especially in Asia. There is no benefit to the United States if Europe becomes a Putin playground,” Giles said.

For Iran, the new axis of autocracies provides answers to some existential questions. Bluntly, Iran needs allies, and its relations with the other three are largely transactional.

“Iran plays different roles for each of these actors: To Russia, it’s a military partner and potential thorn in the side of the United States. To China, Iran is key to energy security and specifically the security of oil shipments from the Gulf,” said Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media, a website that publishes analysis on the Middle East.

Iran, a country with multiple regional enemies—chiefly Israel—might seek increased military support later. This could be of concern to the United States if the region becomes less stable in the coming years. “The main threat that Iran could potentially pose for the United States is in the region, with American military bases and other facilities potentially at risk in the event of an all-out confrontation,” Ali Shabani said.

All the potential chaos the other three can cause would suit China well, especially if Trump whacks Beijing with steep tariffs once in office.

One European diplomat explained that a common fear among their peers is that Trump doesn’t fully grasp how many moving parts there are nor how they interact with each other. There is legitimate concern, for example, that Trump will cut a deal on Ukraine and pull back from NATO. Doing so would expose European security and leave the continent vulnerable to Russia. Trump also wants to impose tariffs on European exporters.

“You cannot withdraw support for Europe’s security, hit their economies, then expect their companies to stop selling semiconductors to China or consumers to not buy cheaper Chinese goods, which means what happens in Europe now could have consequences for Taiwan, which would have consequences for allies in the Indo-Pacific. It’s all connected,” the diplomat said.

Fears that Trump doesn’t take global affairs seriously are hardly new. But what might be different in his second term is how much, or how little, attention he pays to the rest of the world.

“The first time around, people were worried he would be looking for reasons to hit the red button,” Bruen said. “I think this time, it’s more concerning that he will turn a blind eye to the rest of the world and see the behavior of people like Putin and [Chinese President Xi Jinping] as not being America’s problem.”

Trump might want to focus on a purely domestic agenda, as is his right. But enemies are looking at a potential void right now and seeing an opportunity to reach a shared objective: to take a major bite out of Washington’s global influence and swallow it up themselves.

[the-orange-shit-stain-scam]

Let’s play the time travel “what if?” game. I am firmly convinced that if a man of Trump’s character and abilities was in the White House in 1941, he would have negotiated the US out of participating in WW2. Caring only for his own security and lust for power, this president would have abolished our constitution, capitulated to the demands of the tyrannical regimes in Germany and Japan and installed himself as dictator for life of what was left of the third world version of the United States.

[rickmctumbleface]

Based on the Supreme Court's decision today, the President of the United States now has almost complete immunity from prosecution. In other words, he could be a dictator if he wanted to. IF trump becomes president again, he will never give it up. He will rule like an emperor, and he will install a new ruler when he dies. AMERICAN. DEMOCRACY. WILL. BE. OVER. Nothing else now matters in this coming election except to ensure that trump does not win, because that will be the end of American democracy. We will become like Russia, China, and all those other autocratic countries. Women will become second class citizens again. Please, do not let that happen. Every other concern must take a back seat now. Do Not Vote for Trump, no matter what. It will literally kill America for us and our children and their children.

[hareofhrair]

Please tell me if you're a zionist or not. Because the notes on that post of yours are absolutely rancid regarding Palestinian people and I need to know before I submit your url to the zionist block list

No, I am not a zionist. Israel, like any ethnostate, should not exist and what they are doing to the Palestinians is unquestionably genocide. I fully support Palestine and their right to resist in the face of annihilation.

I am also not anti semetic, for the record, and stand with the many Jewish people who support Palestinian liberation.

I also recognize that while Biden or any president is unlikely to ever stop supporting Israel as it’s too critical to colonial and capitalist action in that area, Trump has voiced support for Israel straight up nuking Gaza.

There is unfortunately very little we can meaningfully do with this particular election for the Palestinian people. Continuing to pressure the democrats may mitigate the damage to a degree, but I’m aware how thin a comfort that is to a country currently being massacred.

But we cannot help ANYONE if our democracy is actively overthrown, as Trump has made extremely, unambiguously clear he intends to do. He has every intention of making himself a Putin style dictator, with the full support of Putin himself, who knows he can use Trump as a puppet, in a manner so like the way we’ve overthrown democratic countries and installed puppet dictators in the past that the dramatic irony would be heavy handed were it fictional. We almost deserve it.

But we are a country full of innocent people the same as any other, who don’t deserve to suffer and die to punish the idea of western imperialism, which the vast majority of have zero control over.

The one tiny bit of control we DO have is through voting.

This is not a situation I’m happy with, but this isn’t a situation of trading Palestinian lives for American ones. This is a situation where saving Palestinian lives isn’t even on the table, and refusing to acknowledge that is only going to make the situation worse. We can either save American lives and hope it doesn’t make the situation in Palestine actively worse. Or we can refuse to do anything like petulant children and watch everyone die.

Vote, and then get back to organizing your community, participating in protests and direct action, volunteering and donating to relief and evacuation funds, and voting in local elections so that we can maybe end up with some better options next time!

And if yall ever get the violent revolution off the ground, I’ll be right behind you! But if you tell me you’re not voting because the only moral action is firebombing a Walmart, you’d better firebomb the goddamn Walmart.

And to the assholes in the notes of that post and talking shit in my asks, for the record, I’m a disabled trans lesbian living in goddamn Louisiana, living on less than $1000 a month. Aside from my friends in Florida, no one is getting the ass end of this garbage government more than us. And for the record, yeah, I’m boycotting McDonald’s, and anything else I can. I’d boycott Starbucks too if there was one within 50 miles. I vote in every local election. I organize as much as I can in rural Louisiana. I take direct action whenever I get the chance, which isn’t often given my lack of mobility and remote location, but I’m willing to bet I’ve done more than most of the assholes in the notes.

Let me put it very plainly, TLDR: if you refuse to vote because you think it doesn’t make a difference or you think it’ll make you complicit in this country’s crimes, you are actively putting your personal comfort and moral purity above the lives of the Palestinian people, as well as above every vulnerable person in this country on top of it. If you want to save Palestine, start by not letting our god damn democracy go up in flames.

[badgraph1csghost]

Other people with more followers than I've got have said this more eloquently, but I just saw a post from February encouraging Americans to throw the system by not voting in November.

The fact is, 18-45 year old voters are going to hand republicans the biggest wins in history by not showing up on election day because of "genocide Joe".

Fine. And while you're making your asinine and wholly futile political statements, the Heritage Foundation is going to install Donald Trump as dictator, kneecap the right to privacy, and kill anyone on the LGBT spectrum.

I'm sorry that "guy who's going to kill palestinians and other people he doesn't like" and "guy who's only going to kill palestinians" are our only two choices here. But, they ARE our only two choices. This is a deeply corrupt system, but withholding your vote is not the answer.

"Well, I'M better because I'm going to vote for a third party, so fuck you." Third parties are decoys that republicans use to split liberal voters from the democrats. In 2000, people said "Oh, I can't vote for Al Gore in good concience," voted for Nader, and Bush won. In 2016, people said, "Oh, I can't vote for Hilary Clinton in good concience", voted for Jill Stein, and Trump won. 2024, people are going to say, "Oh, I can't vote for Joe Biden in good concience", vote for whoever the fuck is the third party candidate, and hand Trump a second presidency.

I cannot stress this enough: if Trump wins again, there will NEVER be another free election held in this country again.

We don't have the luxury of staying home on election day and hoping Joe and Donald both die of COVID-19. Vote for Biden, then hit yourself or whatever it is you do. Because there is quite literally no other way.

[radioactive-leopard]

I am hearing so much rhetoric from other Americans about either not voting or voting for Trump in the elections in November as a protest vote and I cannot believe how naive they are. Yes, what the current administration is doing in Palestine is terrible; yes, our president is a literal Zionist who openly supports Israel; yes, this is terrible. I don’t think people remember how bad it was under the trump presidency. I’m going to break down a few of their talking points, including those about how the Biden administration failed to live up to their campaign promises.

Biden didn’t protect roe v wade. No, he didn’t, but do you know who you should blame for that? Obama. If Ruth bader Ginsberg hadn’t refused to step down when Obama was president, the Supreme Court would be slightly less conservative. Obama could have pressured her more into retiring. When Obama did have the overwhelming majority in both the house and the senate, he didn’t push for any reproductive rights bills to go through. From 2020-2022, Dems had the slimmest majorities in both the house and senate. In the senate, it was a 50-50 tie with Kamala Harris as the tie breaker, and democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema didn’t support those bills. They had a 13 seat majority in the house, but frankly there wasn’t enough to pass a reproductive rights act. How could Biden have stopped the overturning of roe v wade? He has no power over the Supreme Court. Right now, republicans control the house and the senate is 51-49. Nothing is going through Congress right now.

Biden didn’t cancel student loans like he promised. No, he didn’t. Because the Supreme Court overruled his attempt to forgive a bunch of student loans at once. So what is he doing? Pushing through smaller forgiveness packages to get around the Supreme Court. People want Biden to be a benevolent dictator but only when it suits them.

Biden supports Israel. Yes, he does. Who else supports Israel? Literally every president since WWII. Biden isn’t alone here, and frankly he is far more moderate than other presidents have been. Trump moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, signifying that the us recognizes israeli domain over Jerusalem. Trump has also been vocal in his support for the genocide in Gaza, calling for the IOF to flatten it. Voting for trump would be even more disastrous for the Palestinian people, as he would actively support Bibi. Remember, Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies want Biden to lose because they know what trump will be like.

It can’t get any worse. Yes, it can. Project 2025 is the gop plan to destroy American democracy and any pesky minorities. They want to get rid of the department of education among others. It is a white nationalist, Christian nationalist plot. They want to ban abortion nation wide, persecute trans people, install lackies in civil service positions instead of more neutral professionals, enter into a trade war with china, and grow the fossil fuel industry. If trump wins, his administration will do their best to strip away any constitutional freedoms and create a dictatorship. All of this would be disastrous, and many of these policies would hurt trumps own voter base. Speaking as a midwesterner, I remember when trump was doing that trade war with china and they imposed tariffs on American agricultural products, specifically pork. My family ate so much pork during that time because it was so cheap, but that was only because pig farmers were suffering without the market in china. A trade war with china would specifically hurt farmers.

Don’t vote for either we need a revolution. Seriously? How do you propose we do that? How on gods green earth would people create a successful revolution in less than 6 months. Who do you think would be the first ones hurt in the event of a revolution? The answer is that a revolution would only hurt societies most vulnerable: women, gender and sexual minorities, people of color, Muslims, Jews, any other religious minority, children, and disabled people. A revolution or uprising would be the worst thing that could happen to the people of this country, and it would embolden fascists to enact violence.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

David Rowe

* * * * *

We must build our own media ecosystem

November 19, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

I was on a Zoom call with a couple of readers on Monday. Both said they had stopped following the news—including my newsletter. I get it. Although there are bright spots that deserve celebration, we are working our way through a period that brings jaw-dropping developments on a daily basis. The appointment process has been particularly difficult. In candor, it is worse than I expected—and I expected a Trump second term to be bad. Very.

Looking away from the news in the short term is understandable. Many of today’s shocking developments will still be in the news cycle weeks or months from now. A temporary “news fast” may not change anything. But the grassroots movement has already begun its resistance and is depending on volunteers like you to add heft and reach to the resistance. Trump received support from only 30% of Americans eligible to vote in 2024. He should not be permitted to reign as an imperial president—much less a dictator. It is “all hands on deck.” Come back as soon as you are able!

This newsletter will examine the status of Trump's nominations—which are focused on implementing two of the three main pillars of his campaign—racism and white supremacy. Those themes were expressed through hostility and dehumanizing language toward immigrants. (“Rapists, murderers, and animals” who are “poisoning the blood of our nation.”) A subtheme of Trump's campaign was exacting revenge on his political opponents. Those campaign themes explain virtually all Trump's nominations to this point.

I highlight the underlying themes not to instill fear or stir anger. Instead, I am describing the stakes—hoping that the information will spur you to action in resisting Trump's nominees. Any single nominee would qualify as one of the worst in US history. As a group, they are an assault on the Constitution and an insult to the American people.

Our representatives in the Senate must reject most of Trump's nominees. Senators must refuse to allow Trump to write the Senate out of the Constitution by using recess appointments to install his initial cabinet selections. Trump has a majority in the Senate. He should submit his nominees for approval to an institution his party controls.

With that background, let’s look at the nominations that are—for the moment—Trump's wish list. Whether he will be able to secure confirmation remains to be seen.

Trump renews vow to use military to round up immigrants for mass deportation

On Monday, Trump endorsed a post by Judicial Watch that claimed Trump will “declare a national emergency and will use military assets” to effectuate mass deportations. See NYTimes, Trump Confirms Plans to Use the Military to Assist in Mass Deportations. (Behind a paywall.) Alternatively, see Mother Jones, Trump Confirms Plan to Use Military to Carry Out Mass Deportations.

Per the Times, Trump's top immigration policy adviser, Stephen Miller, previously declared that Trump would construct “holding facilities” (read: concentration camps) to detain immigrants while they await determination of their status:

Stephen Miller, said that military funds would be used to build “vast holding facilities that would function as staging centers” for immigrants as their cases progressed and they waited to be flown to other countries.

Under Trump's plan, immigrants awaiting resolution of their cases would remain in hastily constructed “vast holding facilities for years.” (As of 2021, the average time to disposition of a deportation case was 4.5 years; I could not find a more recent statistic.)

Holding millions of immigrants in temporary facilities guarded by the US military is a dark vision of life under a Trump presidency. Trump will face strong headwinds if he continues his quest to deport 10 million immigrants. Even the attempt to do so will inflict grievous injury on the US economy and impose human suffering on an unimaginable scale. We must derail Trump’s proposed appointments to DOD (Pete Hegseth), his “Border Czar” (Tom Homan), and Attorney General (Matt Gaetz).

New revelations against Matt Gaetz

Revelations involving Matt Gaetz continue to appear in the media as lawyers for witnesses in the House ethics investigation speak to the media. See CBS News, Two women told House ethics panel Gaetz sent Venmo payments "for sex" and asked about "party favors," their attorney says.

Per CBS, the attorney for the witnesses said

[O]ne of his clients testified before the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl against a game table at a July 2017 party. Gaetz was sworn into Congress in January 2017, so all of the events the women allege took place while he was a member of the House.

The attorney also said that Gaetz requested “party favors” and “vitamins” from the witnesses, which they understood to be requests for drugs. Finally, the women testified that Gaetz paid them for sex using the PayPal account of Nestor Galban, “a Cuban immigrant who is close to Gaetz and whom Gaetz has referred to as his ‘son.’”

Speaker Mike Johnson has demanded that the House ethics investigation remain secret because . . . well, because it would be damaging to Gaetz. But there are two good reasons to release the report.

First, although Gaetz has resigned from the 118th Congress (which ends its session at 11:59 a.m. on January 3, 2025), he has been elected to the 119th Congress, which begins its session at noon on January 3, 2025. So, the House ethics committee should remain keenly interested in the ethics of a representative-elect to the next session of Congress.

Second, the House is in possession of information that is highly relevant to Gaetz’s qualifications to serve as US Attorney General. The fact that Speaker Mike Johnson is seeking to protect someone alleged to have engaged in child sex trafficking is reprehensible.

Pressure to reject the Gaetz nomination is growing. See Politico, Matt Gaetz feels the heat. You can add to that pressure! See Opportunities for Reader Engagement.

New revelations regarding Department of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth

Fox entertainer Pete Hegseth believes that women should be removed from combat positions in the military. His hostility toward women may be explained by the fact that he entered into a non-disclosure agreement with a woman to prevent her from disclosing her claim that Hegseth sexually assaulted her after a conference in Monterey, California. Se ABC News, Hegseth paid settlement to woman who accused him of sexual assault, lawyer says.

Per ABC, Hegseth’s lawyer claims that the woman who filed the police report was “the aggressor” who took advantage of a defenseless Pete Hegseth. The woman was a staffer at a conservative convention who was “responsible for ensuring that Hegseth made it back to his hotel room at the end of the night.”

At the time that Hegseth allegedly needed a young woman to help him find his hotel room, he was a Major in the National Guard with a Bronze Star for service in a combat zone. If Hegseth can’t find his hotel room without a young woman escorting him, he has no business acting as the Secretary of Defense. At the very least, the Senate must investigate the incident to determine whether Hegseth sexually assaulted the young female staffer.

True to form, Trump says he still backs Hegseth because, you know, allegations of sexual abuse are not disqualifying in the Trump administration. As they say, the tone starts at the top!

Russian media cheers nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard has exhibited an unholy affinity for Vladimir Putin over the last several years. She defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, blaming the US for “forcing” Russia to defend itself by invading its neighbor. Gabbard has also claimed that Putin invaded Ukraine because the US was allegedly funding biolabs in Ukraine that were developing deadly viruses that could be used in bioweapons.

Not surprisingly, the Russian media has been cheering on Gabbard’s nomination to lead the US intelligence community—which should be grounds for disqualifying her nomination. See NYTimes, How Tulsi Gabbard Became a Favorite of Russia’s State Media. (Behind a paywall.)

Per the NYTimes, Russian media outlets have reported:

“The C.I.A. and the F.B.I. are trembling,” Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian newspaper, wrote on Friday in a glowing profile of Ms. Gabbard, noting, positively, that Ukrainians consider her “an agent of the Russian state.” Rossiya-1, a state television channel, called her a Russian “comrade” in Mr. Trump’s emerging cabinet.

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat said,

“Nominating Gabbard for director of national intelligence is the way to Putin’s heart, and it tells the world that America under Trump will be the Kremlin’s ally rather than an adversary.”

Sadly, nominating a Putin ally for the top US intelligence post is not the top news story about Trump's proposed cabinet picks. But it is a story that should concern all Americans. Trump was cavalier with US intelligence secrets—negligence that may have compromised US agents and assets across the world. It could be worse with an intelligence chief who wants to see Putin succeed and the US fail.

Trump nominates Project 2025 author to head the FCC

Trump claimed he never heard of Project 2025. For the second time in a week, he has nominated a contributor to Project 2025 to a senior officer position in his administration. On Monday, he nominated existing FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to take over the Chair position on the FCC. See CNN Business, Brendan Carr wrote the FCC chapter in ‘Project 2025.’ Now he’s Trump’s pick for the agency.

Carr is a favorite of Elon Musk even though Carr will seek to remove the protections of Section 230 for tech companies. Section 230 insulates online companies from liability for false and defamatory comments by their users. Musk famously believes in free speech except when it contradicts his worldview.

Under Musk’s ownership, Twitter has directed traffic away from progressive and liberal users while amplifying conservative voices. See WSJ, Exclusive | X Algorithm Feeds Users Political Content—Whether They Want It or Not. (“The majority of the political posts X served the bots were from conservative figures and pro-Trump accounts.”)

Carr has recently made public comments suggesting that NBC could lose its broadcast license for allowing Kamala Harris to appear on an episode of Saturday Night Live before the election. After Trump complained about the appearance on SNL, Carr said the following about NBC’s broadcast license during a Fox interview:

We need to keep every single remedy on the table. One of the remedies the FCC has [against NBC] ultimately, would be license revocation, if we find that it’s egregious

As noted in Politico, Carr has also criticized President Biden’s broadband subsidies for rural areas while “cozying up to satellite broadband executive Elon Musk.” In other words, Carr is criticizing the technology that competes with Musk’s Starlink broadband service. Talk about a conflict of interest!

Because Carr already serves on the FCC, he will not need to go through the confirmation process in the Senate.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[rnp5324]

I'm Cooked.

How my morning is going: -TRUMP AND MR. COUCH DIDDLER FUCKING WON. -Trump won Ohio for the 3rd time. -We lost the US Senate. -We're likely going to lose the House. -In Ohio, Republicans won ALL 3 STATE SUPREME COURT SEATS. -Bernie Moreno, a pro-lifer pushing for a no exceptions ban on reproductive healthcare, played several Anti-Trans ads for his campaign, and who screwed over his own workers by not giving them overtime pay and being a bigoted asshole, got elected. -Issue 1, an amendment that would ban politicians from jerrymandering district maps and giving that power to the citizens instead, flopped.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Whoops, There goes my bodily autonomy. There goes my human rights. There goes my Democracy™. There goes my right to protest. There goes my right to free press. There goes my ability to exist publicly as an LGBTQ+ person. There goes any chance of saving Gaza. I cannot understate how horribly we're cooked. He's a convicted felon of 34 counts, incited an insurrection to overturn the last election he lost, said "so what" to said mob trying to kill his Vice President (that he also encouraged), and Project 2025 will soon become a dystopian reality, if we don't organize, protest, and do everything in our power to fight back fascism now. If you think that by not living in the US this election won't effect you, just remember that we have 800 military installations across the world. Remember that Trump has immunity from sending Seal Team 6 to kill anyone he views as a political adversary thanks to our Supreme Court. Remember that he is cozying up with literal dictators. Remember that he is planning to deport MILLIONS of Americans to who-knows-where. Remember that he is willing to abolish environmental protections, destroy entire agencies, and abolish NOAA. I don't know what kind of hellish future I'm going to be living in. Just know that I am going to continue to fight for what I believe in, and if that makes me a potential enemy of the state, then so be it. Unity is strength. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════

!!!TRUMP SUPPORTERS DO NOT INTERACT!!!

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME ANYWHERE NEAR ME. Have fun when he throws you over the bus. He is only in it for himself.

[darkmaga-returns]

By Earick Ward

As I wrote in “A Left-centered, not a God-centered, nation” from October 2021, “throughout America’s existence, our elections have moved between conservative and liberal philosophical paradigms….”

While I believe that this has been the case historically, let me proffer that I believe that the 2024 election, and its subsequent governing period, will be revolutionary in nature, not business-as-usual.

Whether it mirrors our American revolution and the re-affirmation of our republican ideals, or France’s “reign of terror” will be determined through the ballot box, and/or subsequent shenanigans, which coincidentally always benefit the Democrats.

If Kamala Harris prevails (not wins, or earns the nomination, but prevails), our worst fears will be realized:

20–30 million illegal aliens will be granted amnesty;

Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico will be recognized as states, with additional senators and congressmen being installed;

Democrats will stack the Supreme Court;

Democrats will end the filibuster;

Donald Trump, his attorneys, his advisers, and family members will very likely be tried, convicted, and imprisoned;

Hate Speech codes will be instituted on public platforms, and Democrats will shut down any platforms (X, Breitbart, Fox, AT) that don’t conform to the government’s dictates on “acceptable” speech;

Censorship will be weaponized to shut down “misinformation” which is any information that doesn’t comport to leftist orthodoxy;

Americans could be imprisoned for questioning the election, and/or for “hate speech” violations;

A national abortion policy will be implemented, permitting abortions through the ninth month of pregnancy;

The “trans” agenda will accelerate, with more and more boys and men permitted into women’s sports and private spaces;

More “reparations” for blacks, Hispanics, and any other non-white demographic;

Introduction of price controls with government regulating all sales, increasing inflation exponentially, supplies will be limited as resellers become unsure of the profitability of their production, and rations will be instituted for food, water, and power;

EV mandates will be enforced, and the sale of internal combustion vehicles will be banned by 2030;

Blue state deficits will be bailed out by the federal treasury;

American troops will be deployed in Ukraine;

American support of Israel will be curtailed, with no new (or previously approved weapons being supplied to our once-close ally;

China will invade and subsequently take Taiwan;

and America’s sovereignty will be subjugated to Davos, and our Constitution will be supplanted with the globalist charter of the World Economic Forum. 

If Donald Trump is elected, and by the grace of God sworn-in as the 47th president of the United States, he must take revolutionary actions to reform the entirety of government—not the Constitution and our founding principles, but a government that has become bastardized beyond its intended form. He should:

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for the upcoming Earth Avatar TV show:

(note: this is really an expansion of an older post of mine about a 1980s-themed Avatar show)

1) The title:

Avatar: The Legend of Kazuya

2) The plot:

It’s been 60/70 years since Legend of Korra. The world is now in their version of the 1980s. Since Korra’s death, this is how the international community currently looks:

1) The Fire Nation is a mess of class inequality, riots, and a stagnant government. The Fire Nation parliament (which was installed at some point thanks to Korra’s push for more democracy in the world) struggles to pass any sort of meaningful legislation due to political infighting. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation royalty are now the jokes of the world due to several high-profile scandals/affairs and power being shifted to the Fire Nation Prime Minister.

2) The Earth Kingdom is also going through similar societal problems. In addition to the above, crime is skyrocketing in Ba Sing Se, with many people claiming that the capital city is now run by the crime families. Meanwhile, the Earth President was voted in as a result of backlash to the previous president, who the public saw as too globalist, anti-Earth Kingdom, and pro-Avatar. So, the current Earth President is an anti-globalist, anti-Avatar conservative who wants to put the “Earth Kingdom first”.

3) The Water Tribes are in stark contrast to each other. The Northern state resembles the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom when it comes to societal advancements and problems. Meanwhile, the Southern state has become the equivalent of a struggling third-world nation, mostly thanks to corrupted leadership and exploitation from the other nations. Despite achieving independence, there is now a movement to reconnect with the Northern Water Tribe as a way to solve the Southern state’s issues.

4) The Air Republic went through the most change. Despite a peaceful start to the new Air Republic, the nation was taken over by extremists who were eager to prevent another Air genocide. This meant focusing on building a formidable military and indoctrinating the public with “pro-Air/anti-world/anti-Avatar” propaganda. Thus, the Air Republic was turned into a police state that is ruled by Airbending nationalists/extremists, and is widely considered to be the most dangerous nation in the world. Our real world equivalent would be something along the lines of North Korea or Iran.

With the way the world is, the public sentiment has shifted against the Avatar. Due to the rise of democracy and nationalism, people now see the Avatar as a dictator due to their ability to intervene in other nations’ affairs in the name of “balancing the world”. So, despite all the good that Aang and Korra did, Earth Avatar Kazuya was born into a world that despised him from the start.

Because of this extreme resentment, Kazuya grew up to be a bitter, angsty man filled with guilt and shame. Since the world views the Avatar as this unrestrained Superman who could do whatever they want, Kazuya decides to live life by a strict code in the hopes of setting a precedent for future Avatars. Kazuya’s code is:

1) The Avatar can intervene if it involves the Spirit World.

2) The Avatar will only intervene in world affairs if it will lead to another world war or some other international catastrophe.

3) The Avatar will no longer be a tool used for political purposes. They must always be neutral and act without emotion.

Kazuya’s code is met with mixed reactions. Some people praised it as a sign that the Avatar was willing to adapt to this new, modern world. Some people criticized it since they saw Kazuya as a coward for letting violent disputes/clashes between nations to occur. Despite the criticism, Kazuya embraces his code as a way to keep the Avatar relevant in a world that seemingly no longer wants him around.

So, Kazuya is an angsty, guilt-ridden man who sticks by his incredibly strict moral code, even though it pains him to do so. Basically, if you know your Marvel, he’s the Avatar version of Matt Murdock (Daredevil).

And that’s basically where the show begins. Kazuya, who is a fully-established Avatar at the start, declares to the world that he will only do his Avatar duties under certain circumstances. Problems then start, leading to Kazuya struggling in deciding whether or not he should intervene.

3) The Kazuya Gang (our main quartet)

* Earth Avatar Kazuya. For voice actor, I was thinking Steve Blum (who previously voiced Amon).

* Haerang: A world-famous pop singer from the Earth Kingdom who joins Kazuya since she views him as a “celebrity” like herself. She is Kazuya’s love interest and the only non-bender in the quartet. For a real world comparison, Haerang is like Madonna in the 1980s.

* Shyam: Haerang’s manager and an exile from the Air Republic. Shyam is a skilled Airbender, but hides his ability due to anti-Air discrimination (based on the state of world politics).

* Miko: A firebending assassin/bounty hunter who was initially hired to kill Haerang (this was the first story arc). Miko later drops the mission after learning that her employer betrayed her, leading to her joining Kazuya to get revenge.

(so compared to the Gaang, Kazuya is Aang, Haerang is Katara, Shyam is Sokka, and Miko is Toph)

4) Some story arcs that I came up with for the show

* The Haerang assassination arc (see above)

* Exiles from the Air Republic attempt to start a world war in the hopes of getting the Earth, Water, and Fire states to invade the Air Republic and overthrow the current government. So, here’s the moral quandary for the Avatar; let a world war happen to overthrow a dictatorship or keep the peace to spare lives?

* The Earth Kingdom begins research into “Avatar-level” weaponry, which pisses off the Spirit World.

* The return of Vaatu and the rise of a Dark Avatar.

* The Earth Kingdom presidential campaign, in which the leading candidate is from the most powerful crime family in Ba Sing Se.

5) Miscellaneous

* Technology advancements are in the 1980s. This means we have (primitive) computers, video games, more modern cars, movies, a music industry, and so on.

* Oh, and guns. There’s guns now, which were probably invented by non-benders so they can keep up with the benders.

* Due to the state of things, the “mystique” of the Avatar world is gone. Kyoshi Island has been reduced to a vacation spot for tourists (because it’s an “exotic” location according to the media). Aang and Korra’s stories have been turned into tacky movies that take numerous liberties with what actually happened (example: in their movies, Aang is a one-dimensional action movie hero who says cheesy one-liners while Korra’s portrayal skips over all her trauma and growth to present her as a squeaky clean superhero). The monument to Zuko has been vandalized by anti-government protestors.

* While avoiding the TV-MA rating, I did picture this show to be much darker and more serious than Aang and Korra’s show. The world is grimmer and Kazuya is not as fun and happy as his predecessors. So, TV-14, maybe?

* This is just a personal preference but I’d love it if the soundtrack was mainly 1980s-themed synthbeats/vaporwave. It’d be incredibly different from the previous shows, but it would fit the setting.

[malwarewolf404]

I’m gonna prescribe this very simple razor test for any post you see that says anything along the lines of “people are spineless for choosing Biden as ‘the lesser of two evils,’ when they’re both just as evil” or anything of the sort. You know the ones.

Read the entire post, and take a moment to reflect on what the author is saying, and then as: “what do they wish for me to do instead?”

If there’s no alternative offered by the author of what you can do instead of just voting blue, then the person behind the post is just bitter about the illusion of democracy being washed away and lashing out. And they should be upset! But it’s really time we took a very hard look at how we speak about this whole “vote blue no matter who” discourse and realize that it doesn’t serve any higher purpose to lose what is essentially the last hold of even vaguely liberal government branches because we’re too liberal to bend the knee to someone who isn’t the perfect progressive working class anti-war anti-capitalist saint.

I don’t really jive with the idea of four more years of Biden. Putting his age and brain acquity aside, his entire presidency has been plagued with the most insidious and corrupt acts of law perpetrated by the Supreme Court on its citizens in recent memory, so much so that it feels as if we have absolutely no say in who or what we are governed by.

I don’t have all the answers. But I can tell you this much, discouraging people from voting for someone who already isn’t ideal is a lot worse than voting for someone and being able to talk about their faults and shortcomings as well. Obviously not that many people on here need to be sold on Biden, as we have almost no say in the matter to begin with. What concerns me is the people on here who seem intent to shame others because they are trying to prop up a presidential candidate who would at least be able to mitigate some damage rather than actively cause it.

We are not bootlickers for wanting someone other than one of the two presidential candidates we have been forced to choose. We can be critical of Biden’s handling of Gaza and rampant military spending while also acknowledging that he is, regretfully, the only candidate who has a shot at winning that could introduce meaningful change. What separates us from conservatives is that we recognize that politicians are, more often than not fair from saints, whereas they treat every candidate regardless how rancid as a flawless god emperor. It is our responsibility to be critical of our leaders, and we can’t do that if the RNC installs a dictator.

[acronymking4tdp]

Letters from an American

January 31, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

FEB 1, 2024 Excerpt:

Tonight, Senator Angus King (I-ME) spoke on the Senate floor about what U.S. refusal to aid Ukraine would mean. 

King harked back to the failure of European allies to stop Hitler when it would have been relatively easy. “Whenever people write to my office” asking why we are supporting Ukraine, he said, “I answer, Google Sudetenland, 1938.” “We could have stopped a murderous dictator who was bent on geographic expansion…at a relatively low cost. The result of not doing so was 55 million deaths.”

The upcoming vote on whether to support “the people of Ukraine as they fight for our values,” King said, “will echo throughout the history of this country and the history of the world for generations…. If we back away, walk away, pull out and leave the Ukrainians without the resources to defend themselves, it will compromise the interests of this country for 50 years. It will be viewed as one of the greatest geopolitical mistakes of the 21st century.” As always, the installment of "Letters" (full letter linked here) is full of information and analysis. It occurs to me that Trump's undermining of negotiations over border policy is a soft insurrection on the part of the former president and his MAGA followers in Congress. Not only is Trump, the loser of the last election, interfering with the legitimate business of the US government for his own political purposes, he is also jeopardizing US interests abroad. It seems unlikely that the Putin-friendly former president and conservatives in Congress are unaware of how their recalcitrance over the border is also supporting their friend in Moscow. Speaker Mike Johnson has recently commented that he would like to separate support for Ukraine from support for Israel. This would make it even easier for the Trump/MAGA crowd to undermine US support for Ukraine.